Displaced lumads return home
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Around 200 lumads displaced in recent encounters between the military and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels started returning to their homes on Friday.
Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Emano said the provincial government provided transportation for the evacuees’ return to the mountain village of Banglaw in Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental.
Capt. Patrick Martinez, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said government troops left the village after a weeklong operation against NPA guerrillas.
Martinez gave assurance that the military would camp out at least one kilometer away from lumad villages during its offensive.
The lumads, who left their homes on Thursday last week, took temporary shelter at the provincial capitol grounds in this city.
Last year, lumads who camped out on the provincial capitol grounds demanded the pullout of the soldiers from their villages.
A spokesperson for the tribal group, Nenita Hilogon, said the presence of soldiers near their villages puts them at risk of being caught in crossfires.
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